Google’s new Pixel smartphones to be priced at $649 and $849

Updated 12:52 pm, Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Google's Sabrina Ellis speaks about the Google Pixel 2 phones at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.

Google's Sabrina Ellis speaks about the Google Pixel 2 phones at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.

Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

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The 5-inch version of the Google Pixel 2 comes in three colors: blue, black and white. There is also the 6-inch Pixel 2 XL.

The 5-inch version of the Google Pixel 2 comes in three colors: blue, black and white. There is also the 6-inch Pixel 2 XL.

Photo: Wendy Lee / The Chronicle

Google’s new Pixel smartphones to be priced at $649 and $849

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Google on Wednesday introduced its next-generation Pixel smartphones, which will come in 5-inch and 6-inch versions.

The $649 Pixel 2 will come in blue, black and white, while the larger $849 Pixel 2 XL will come in all black or a split black and white model. Pre-orders start Wednesday, but Google didn’t immediately say when the phones would be available.

Pixel users can activate Google Assistant by squeezing the phone’s sides. The search bar is located at the bottom of any screen, and users can also broadcast a message to Google Home devices in their home.

The phones can snap photos in portrait mode with a single lens, compared to Apple’s system of using a dual lens for portrait shots. Pixel phones can also take three seconds of video behind the scenes of photos, another feature similar to Apple’s Live Photos system.

Both Pixels are water and dust resistant, and can be charged for seven hours of time in just 15 minutes. They come with an always-on display that shows the time and date without having to turn the phone on, mimicking a feature previously introduced in Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone line.

Google also said the phones will support 60 frames per second of augmented reality rendering. Apple just updated its iPhone operating system to support augmented reality apps for its newest models.

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The new Pixels lack some of the features in Apple’s new iPhone X, such as facial mapping and cartoon animals that mimick the expressions on their users’ faces. But it also is cheaper than the iPhone X, which starts at $999 when it goes on sale in November.

The Pixel line began selling last year. It is Google’s first phone that the company has designed from scratch. While analysts praised the usability of the phone, demand for Pixels was much greater than the supply, causing longer shipping times.

“I wish we had more to go around,” Google executive Rick Osterloh joked during his presentation.

In September, Google announced it was planning to pay $1.1 billion to acquire roughly 2,000 employees from Taiwanese tech firm HTC, furthering its commitment to building its own hardware. Many of the acquired employees had worked on the Pixel.

In the global smartphone market, Samsung and Apple continue to dominate, with a market share of 21 percent and 14.5 percent, according to research firm IDC. Google’s Pixel devices represent less than half a percent, the firm said.